Eighth Grade Daydreams
by Sour Queen
Summary: "He tucked a loose t-shirt under his neck as a makeshift pillow. When he grabbed Sasuke's hand he felt the boy flinch, but then just ease into his grip. They held hands. They were thirteen. And things were good." NaruSasu. Rated T.


Eighth Grade Daydreams

Pairings: NaruSasu

Warnings: Yaoi, AU

…

_Dream Diary Entry 177..._

_I had a dream I fell into the ocean that felt like sweet ice cream. When I came back up, a little boy was sitting on the edge of the pier, staring into the vanilla pond. When I swam out, I saw the ice cream cone in his hand, dripping away into the ocean. I couldn't imagine who on Earth would waste a good thing like that._

The pencil jabbed Naruto so hard in his back, it was impossible to ignore. He pulled it out from under him slowly and sat up, lifting his shirt to inspect the damage. The welt was lengthy, red and puffy. It didn't bother him, as there were too many stars floating around behind his eyelids as he dazedly removed his sleeping wear to his school uniform, wrinkled and musty smelling. His socks had holes in odd places and his worn-out boots had filthy laces Naruto always tied too tightly. He did a once-over in the mirror while shaking his blond spiky hairs around.

"There." He said aloud to no one in particular. "Perfect."

The mess of his bedroom was equivalent to the mess in the hallways, that trailed down the stairs of food, clothing, and other debris, and out into the living room. The only thing half as neat was the rumpled pile of adult Uzumaki, stretched on the couch, asleep in his own suit. Naruto quietly tip-toed and kissed his father on the cheek, murmured something sweet, and grabbed the half-rotten apple on the counter for breakfast.

That was the funny thing about...things, Naruto mused to himself, while grabbing his backpack and clumsily locking the front door behind him. Rotten things also taste the sweetest.

His best friend sat solemnly on his stoop, head in his hands without movement on a chilly October day. Naruto nudged him gently with his hand. "C'mon, we gotta walk." Sasuke flinched violently, startled and ready to attack before realizing who it was.

He sighed and ran a hand through his perfectly sculpted spiky hair. "You're late."

"I'm also tired, lazy, and at times unusual. Don't judge me." Naruto replied without missing a beat, pulling his half-awake friend from his seat and onto the open sidewalk, cringing at the excessive noises Sasuke made crushing the fallen leaves under his feet.

As the two began to walk together in sync, Naruto couldn't help but interrupt the silence with,

"Sasuke, I think I dreamt about you last night again."

* * *

><p><em>Dream Diary Entry 182...<em>

_It's my fault for watching so many horror movies before bed. _

_I always have a special spot for being chained up and experimented on in someone's basement. In fact, the smell of the rusty chains were so real I didn't know it was a dream until I saw Sasuke being wheeled in on a gurney. Then I remembered how to fight._

Naruto didn't wake to his father. Rather he wakes to the crackling sound of the fireplace roaring, and realizes he fell asleep with his bedroom door open, something he doesn't do anymore. His tired, cold feet drug themselves out to the living room where his father was quietly sitting in close proximity to the fire. The clothes were scattered around needlessly, and his father had taken off the worn-out work shoes and placed them neatly beside the door.

Naruto sat beside him, wordlessly. After a few prolonged seconds, Naruto's father leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. It made Naruto swallow butterflies in his throat that dropped to his stomach like lumps. They hadn't done that since Naruto was ten.

"Cold out, isn't it?" His father chuckled humorlessly, yanking off the name clip that said, '_Hi, My name is __Minato__' _and pushed a cold bag of fast-food breakfast before kissing him again and standing to shuffle down the hall toward his makeshift bed. Naruto was only through three bites of a cold biscuit before he heard tapping at the window.

_'I ought to let Sasuke in, it's cold outside.' _Naruto thought, but his movements were slow to open the window and let Sasuke climb inside like a burglar. He wasn't wearing a jacket, or shoes, even, but that didn't surprise Naruto. Sasuke's eyes were looking exceptionally hollow and dead looking alongside his white cheeks. They didn't speak, Naruto only weakly smiled to his friend and pointed to the fireplace to warm them up. Sasuke curled up on the floor slowly.

"It must be tiring to be running all the time, Sasuke..." Naruto murmured quietly, passing over his breakfast. Sasuke ate it all from him without speaking, and Naruto did not complain.

He watched until Sasuke's breathing became even before he felt safe enough to begin thinking about things.

Sasuke has been doing this since he was ten and Naruto was with his father everyday. Sasuke with his dark eyes and sunken cheeks, Sasuke who ran away from his house at least once every month related to the times his mysterious brother arrived home. Truthfully, Naruto knew but at the same time didn't comprehend why Sasuke was such a runner when it came to the things that mattered most to him. And superficially, Naruto didn't get it for other reasons. The Uchiha mansion was huge, everyone was successful..it was, to him, well...

He glanced over at his sleeping best friend's quiet expression, and decided not to think anymore about it. Sasuke had always told him thinking was bad, anyway.

He tucked a loose t-shirt under his neck as a makeshift pillow. When he grabbed Sasuke's hand he felt the boy flinch, but then just ease into his grip. They held hands. They were thirteen.

And things were good.

* * *

><p><em>Dream Diary Entry 564...<em>

_We were on a pirate ship, out to sea, and Sakura had angrily changed course again, making everything tilt so sideways. Under the deck in the greasy cabins, I felt dizzy. I stumbled against the wall and onto the bed and Sasuke beside me. I said something that the sound of ocean spray drowned out, and his hands suddenly were at my hips._

"It's snowing pretty hard out here," Naruto noted dryly, pressing his mitten-clothed palms together, but his hands were already nearly numb to the touch. He could only see Sasuke's head bobbing left and right, making quick decisions. Sasuke had convinced him to skip school early with him because he had "already gained enough knowledge for the day", and he was more interested in going bowling with Naruto.

Naruto bought the pathetic story, but didn't bother to initiate the deeper conversation with the brunette. He knew the real reason was because a fight between Neji and Lee had broken out in Sasuke's math class. Sasuke had become very squeamish about violence over the years, but Naruto didn't mind it. He thought it was kind of cute, actually.

Sasuke sneezed loud enough to bring Naruto back to focus. The icy blizzard had covered everything in white and seemed to confuse Sasuke for the right direction to the bowling alley.

"This way, dobe." Sasuke shouted, pushing down his scarf so he could be heard. Naruto began trudging through the snow to catch up with his friend. He was mildly surprised when Sasuke had reached behind him to grab Naruto's hand. The white snowflakes made an interesting contrast to Sasuke's flaming cheeks, Naruto noted to himself.

And they never made it to the alley, anyway. Naruto had done some serious convincing to the brunette to cancel their trip and instead head over to Naruto's house to warm up and do homework.

"Whenever you wanted to leave school, I always let you go where you want." Sasuke complained gruffly as he closed the front door behind the two, shaking off the snow into the carpet.

Naruto began to pull off his mittens and scarf with a weak smile. "I've never left during a snowstorm. Besides, you never come with me when I leave, Kiba always does." This prompted a snort from his friend, who resigned to silence as they stripped down to their underwear and left the wet clothes by the door. Sasuke helped himself to clothes in the bedroom and Naruto and went to the kitchen to start a hot water pot for ramen.

He fingered the old, poorly painted walls while listening to the kettle whistle. When he returned to the living room with two steaming bowls, Sasuke was already messily covered in a blanket on the floor, asleep. Naruto set the food down beside him and didn't bother waking up his friend. There was still work to be done.

He took out a crumpled piece of paper from his bag, a copy of the novel, _To Kill A Mockingbird, _and a pen.

He decided not to give the essay a title. As he looked back at his best friend's sleeping face, he grinned a bit to himself. It prided him to know that Sasuke could only sleep as comfortably as that when he was at Naruto's house. He'd do anything to keep that face on him.

The essay would be focused on symbolism. He wrote the name in the corner in absolute perfection, the way he has seen it written a million times.

_Sasuke Uchiha._

If it was only one favor.

* * *

><p><em>Dream Diary 583...<em>

_I wore an apron to clean this old house with a thousand rooms. There was a room I had to clean that was full of mirrors. While I began to clean the biggest one, I kept seeing Sasuke in the reflection instead of my own. I didn't mind it. But everytime I turned around to say hello, he was gone._

"What do you wanna be when you grow up?"

"A musician." Sasuke shot back easily, pushing another two greasy fries in his mouth and then carelessly leaned across the table to turn up the jukebox. To drown out the sound of Naruto's voice. Naruto could tell the brunet was in no mood for talking. He only sighed and passed Sasuke a napkin to clean the grains of salt from his cheeks. Sasuke's sudden appetite had left him not wanting anything.

"I want to be an author."

"I know."

Today was not a good day for his best friend, He knew that, because Sasuke didn't get mad at too many things. There were actually only a few he could bring to mind.

_When Itachi comes home._

_When Sasuke receives accolades for the academic work he knows he didn't do._

_When Naruto leaves._

And tonight had been one of those cases. It was Sakura's birthday party and it started at eight. It was loud, it was sweaty; there was music and beer, all the things that makes Sasuke's skin crawl. But he went for Naruto's sake. And truthfully, Naruto hadn't even planned to stay that long. He just wanted to give the girl of his dreams a nice birthday present and maybe shoot the shit awhile with his other classmates. But then Sakura wanted one dance. Then Kiba wanted to smoke with him. Then Shikamaru wanted to talk about Ino. And Neji needed help finding Hinata, and then...

He had remembered being yanked up from underneath Karen's lap, and dragged to the door, unceremoniously thrown out on Sakura's lawn, on his ass. Upside down, he could see distinctly the deep frown on Sasuke's face. The hurt in his eyes.

"...Didja have fun, at least?" He squeaked out, trying his friend's humor. Sasuke had kicked him right in his head.

And then they ended up at an empty Johnny Rocket's, and Naruto got to watch his best friend quite literally eat his wallet to pieces. It was a meek apology. But Sasuke wasn't quite done with him just yet.

"Seems Sakura had a good birthday. I wonder when she'll find out her best friend threw up behind her couch. I got to watch that."

Naruto cringed. Sasuke had stabbed his fork into a fist of fries, pausing only to swallow before speaking again.

"You must have had a good time dancing with her. Her face was lit up the entire time. Did she change her mind about working with you on that history project?"

Naruto soured. '_Low blow, Sasuke.'_ "You know she didn't."

"Aah."

But the permanent frown on Sasuke's face wouldn't go away. The bad 70's music and the grease of the fries Sasuke kept piling into his mouth wasn't enough. The dim lights made Sasuke's angry eyes glow like dark fire. Naruto would be more entranced had he been ignorant to the fact it was his fault. Naruto glanced down at his grilled cheese sandwich with bacon in contempt. Sasuke continued to eat, and Naruto had learned a long time ago that eating was a secret comfort for the brunet when he was unhappy. As long as Sasuke was unhappy, so was he. It was an unavoidable fate for the two of them.

He stretched his back, putting an arm around Sasuke's shoulders which the brunet quickly shoved off. "If you could have one superpower, what would it be?"

"Super Speed." Sasuke snorted sarcastically, but his shoulders relaxed slightly. It was enough to make Naruto's heart flutter with hope.

"I'd want Super Strength." Naruto replied, and then after a few seconds of staring at the profile of his best friend, passed him another napkin.

This brought the anger back, but Sasuke was now out of food. "Your friend Kiba is an idiot. He drank enough tonight that could poison more than a _few_ cows. And you're an idiot for even associating with him."

"Mm-hm." Naruto replied, scooting closer to his friend. This seemed to put Sasuke off, as he all but nearly snarled at his friend, shoving him away. He waved a waitress over, and she took his empty plates. Sasuke refused to meet Naruto in the eye. This was very distressing to Naruto, who at least found himself willing to accept his anger as long as the brunet would glare at him for it. But if he received nothing for all his efforts...

"Sasuke?"

The waitress set down the steaming plate full of golden crisp fries. Sasuke ignored the ketchup bottle that had a receipt with a phone number taped to the cap.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke ate three on his first bite. He licked his thumb, savoring the saltiness of the treat, that seemed to be unintentionally flavored by the pleading of Naruto's voice. There was nothing in the world that pleased Sasuke more than Naruto's attention.

Everyone knew this but Naruto himself.

"Sasuke, please..."

But Sasuke refused to speak to Naruto anymore. Idly, he picked up the receipt, analyzing all ten digits. He might even give the girl a call, if it would piss Naruto off any more. His face steeled. He would do it too, if only.

Naruto snaked an arm around Sasuke's waist. Sasuke shoved him off, putting even more space between them on the tiny, ripped cushion couch. Then there were more fries to distract him.

The blond sighed, eyes rolling. Thinking. "What do you hate most in the world, Sasuke?"

The fork suddenly clattered to the ground. Naruto furrowed his eyes in confusion as Sasuke whirled on him, hitting him in the chest with his palm. Naruto's eyes went from the pain that sprung in his chest to the pain that settled in Sasuke's eyes. His eyes spoke of fury, but his face remained impassive. And the entire situation had become more hard to take seriously because of the salt flakes scattered all over Sasuke's face.

"Alone. I hate being alone." Sasuke said with the strangest amount of calm in his voice, despite his eyes grown wide with the thought alone of it. Naruto's first reaction was to cringe. And his second was to make a witty comment. The third was to retort something back to hurt Sasuke's feelings just as much as he had been grinding Naruto's down to a nub. But the forth had been a hug. He went with that, feeling relief at the sudden slack that went through Sasuke's entire body from the gesture. He smelled like spices.

"You know I could never leave ya alone, Sasuke."

"...I know."

And there was never any more relief when after a simple fifteen seconds of being squeezed, Sasuke had finally wrapped his arms around Naruto's broad frame.

"Hey, Sasuke..."

Naruto wanted to joke. Sasuke had never been a hugger, but this, this was almost nice. The waitress be damned.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, his eyes meeting the blond's eyes briefly in the embrace. The gaze stole Naruto's breath away. So heated. So sad.

Naruto never told him that he was afraid of being alone too. He never told Sasuke about how scared he was because he knew that one day it would be Sasuke who left him, because he was the one that needed to be strong.

Because Sasuke needed this. And Naruto was happy to oblige. They were sixteen. And things were still sort of sweet.

* * *

><p><em>Dream Diary 619...<em>

_I ended up somewhere in the brightly lit hallway of the third floor of school. The sun was halfway shining but the windows were all open, all this rain pouring in. When I climbed up the wall to get a better look outside, I found Sasuke on the roof of the adjacent building. When I asked him where he was going, he smiled and said, "Up."_

Naruto carefully walked around the gallery, admiring all the shiny and glassy looking things on the shelves. The odd shaped pots and wide basins splattered with pretty colors. They seemed to go hand-in-hand with the soft violin music playing on the loud speakers.

"And ya mean to tell me people actually _buy_ this...stuff?" Naruto said softly, craning his neck to stare through the purple glittery glass of a cylindrical shaped...something.

The good-natured chuckle that followed made Naruto turn around. Neji crossed his arms over his uniform. "It's not junk Naruto, it's art."

"Like, _considered_ to be? Or really art." Naruto challenged with a laugh, as he picked up a glass vase with an eye pained onto the center of it, holding it up to his face to emphasize his point. Neji chuckled again and took the expensive object from his hands. He continued to guide Naruto around the gallery store, tossing around names and dates relating to the objects that he could remember. Naruto was entirely more interested in hearing the history about the things than actually considering a purchase.

"What do you think your father would like?" Neji said suddenly, that made Naruto flinch. He hadn't thought about it, although this inevitably...was his purpose.

He eventually shrugged. "My Dad's...a simple guy. He'd probably think anything was good, so long as he got a good laugh out of it." Neji nodded slowly, and they walked together back over to the far east side of the store, passing women conversing and men holding their small children.

Naruto fingered a golden goose statue. "What about you?"

Neji's pale cream eyes slid from side to side, a motion Sasuke did often enough that signaled to Naruto that his friend was considering lying to him. But Neji imitated Naruto's response by shrugging the same. "My Dad and I had similar tastes in art; only things that held meaning."

"Your Dad..." Naruto ventured, but cut himself off. It wasn't his place.

"Yes. My father passed away some time ago."

"Oh."

The awkward silence then placed upon them seemed odd to Naruto, considering they were surrounded by so much bustling. Eventually Neji pried the goose out of Naruto's hands and placed it back on the glassy shelf, gesturing to his left. "Come, there's something I think you'd...your father, would like." And took Naruto by hand to the far east side of the store, where one tall glass casing held all of Naruto's imaginative energy in a single design.

One glossy clay statue of an angry red-orange fox, with nine tails. Naruto pressed his index finger right into the split of the fox's mouth, feeling the white-painted ridges of its teeth. Then stroked the high-arch of its spine, admiring all the minor details of pretty spirals in the fur, brilliant hues of angry orange. He picked it up with both hands, and smiled at Neji's confident face.

"I'll take..."

"Kyubbi. The statue's named after the artist. Kyuubi."

Naruto smiled. "I'll take Kyuubi then." He held the statue up to his face, whispering every so softly as if the bright fox could actually hear him. "The only thing that could make you cooler would be if you could talk."

Neji chuckled softly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Should we go ring you up?"

Naruto's eyes brightened. "What other cool stuff do you have around here? I'm starting to understand all this art stuff."

Neji's smile to him was loosened, Naruto noted to himself. "Depends. What are you looking for?"

"Something with dark eyes."

* * *

><p><em>Dream Diary 923...<em>

_We sat together in an empty pizza parlor, all six of us with the prettiest pizza pie to share, but with the sauce painted blue like the ocean and the cheese a healthy green. We were to split the Earth between us. Sakura took two slices while Kiba took one, Neji took three, and Shikamaru snatched the two I reached for. Sasuke split his share with me and together we ate Japan. It tasted more like heaven, though._

Naruto laid out on his back and stared at Kyuubi, who menacingly glared down at the blond from his high throne of a severely cracked pine bookshelf. Still, Naruto shivered under the gaze and then craned his head to the right to observe the beauty of the moonlight casting shadows over his swollen fingers from furiously writing down dreams half-asleep.

From behind the shadows of the room, his father tucked his feet into tired worker boots. "Not going to bed Naruto?"

"I can't sleep." Naruto replied hoarsely, after some time. He listened to his father slip his gloves on and zip up his jumpsuit. The wind chime giggled like mad in the April winds and was the only sound heard in the darkness of the living room.

His father wordlessly swooped down and pressed his thin lips to Naruto's sweaty forehead. "Get some sleep soon, eh?"

Naruto nodded and stared ahead at the ceiling. The front door opened, but didn't close right away like Naruto had anticipated. When he heard his father chuckle and then slam the screen door, Naruto decided to look over. He felt the coolest chills run down his spine immediately, from locking eyes with hard onyx that looked totally misplaced from the almost timid manner Sasuke had come in.

"...Sasuke? Why?" He tried, but the brunet shook his head and closed the front door behind him, throwing the room back into its darkness. Naruto swallowed the rest of his questions behind his throat and waited patiently for Sasuke to straighten himself out on the carpeted floor, this time his whole face bathed in the moonlight that seemed eager to kiss at it. Naruto was strangely jealous.

Sasuke swallowed noisily. "I just...can't listen to another adventure story about the Akatsuki in South America."

Naruto nodded. "I understand."

After a moment, Sasuke shrugged and said, "I prefer your Dad much more over mine, someone who doesn't always ask hard questions."

Naruto wanted to laugh out loud at the concept. How nice it must be for someone to be the one asking _you _the questions, but he didn't say. He watched Sasuke stare at the statue of Kyuubi. He admired how Sasuke's thick eyelashes swept over his shiny eyes and how his fingers twitched one after another as they gathered together on his stomach, the soft rise and fall of his chest, the milky skin of his clavicle that contrasted against the thick black hoodie, and the soft curve of Sasuke's back that stayed just millimeters above the ground when he laid back.

He was scared to look at the other boy's lips, but felt his eyes keep sliding over to them. They must have been darting back and forth like crazy Naruto thought, because that could have been the only reason Sasuke just leaned over and took him by the chin for a kiss, tempting the blond with the smell of spices and soap.

The wind chime suddenly bustled with excitement, that Naruto pretended was egging him on to straddle Sasuke's by the hips, and express what he could never say in words, or write in that book. If Sasuke's small moan was any indication, Naruto could've melted over him.

"Wait..." Sasuke broke their kiss to inhale deeply, and searched Naruto's eyes for something with his own. He hoped he had found it, if Sasuke's playful smirk were any indication. "I'm staying the night too."

Naruto's lips curled into a smile and he nodded. "Of course."

They were seventeen. And only short nights like these made the even longer days sweet.

* * *

><p><em>Dream Diary 1293...<em>

_The couch I had been sitting on was long, plush, and brown. I was jealous of the thick blanket wrapped around Sasuke's body as he sat next to me, but as he threw the blanket over our icy bodies and pressed his head into my chest, I suddenly wished him away from me and complained. But he told me to shut up, he was listening to my heart beat and I was ruining the music. _

Naruto broke his arm when he was eighteen during a fire drill when a poor freshman fell nearly a full flight down the concrete stairs before Sasuke caught him to a clumsy save. He stayed in the hospital a full two days because his father wanted Naruto to get some, "pampering" in before returning home.

Sasuke had visited twice for approximately four hours each time. The visits were mostly solemn; Sasuke would lay across Naruto's thighs, and the two seniors talked about the university they were going to. College life. What came next, if there was something.

"You have to go somewhere prestigious, that's obvious." Naruto said, wriggling his body. Sasuke grunted and closed his eyes.

"Somewhere far." came the response. Naruto wasn't surprised, but as he pictured it for himself, he found his mind rejecting the sudden thought of leaving his father somewhere, alone. He swallowed.

"Not too far."

"Why?" Sasuke challenged, not opening his eyes.

"Because how would I be able to follow you otherwise?"

* * *

><p><em>Dream Diary 1348...<em>

_The ground was shaking something fierce, I couldn't hear anything. But no one was screaming. There was an earthquake and people were moving up and down the street, shopping the busy district as if nothing was wrong. A vendor's jewelry jangled around, toppled over, and scattered on the bare dirt, but Sasuke refused to let me pick the pretty bracelets up. He pulled me by the hand and told me we were just too close to leaving this place. _

Around the same time Naruto discovered Sasuke was keeping secrets, he also discovered his love for travel. During the Spring Break, Ino's rich parents managed to score the whole gang tickets to Cancun, Mexico. It was all a ploy though. Sakura had secretly informed the two boys that Ino was taking his this six months earlier than her father had planned, because he didn't yet know she wasn't going o TokyoU but skipping out all together to pursue an acting career, she wanted to enjoy the moment-and the money-while she had it.

But Sakura didn't blame her, as she had explained to them.

"We'll all be parting ways soon, so, it's only right to spend as much time together as we can, right?" It was Naruto's one and only chance to address the inevitable, but he missed it.

Sasuke had always been deathly afraid of flying, so unlike Naruto, who had wished the entire flight that he could ride on the wings of the plane. They landed and skipped lunch, going straight to the hotel, the lobby filled to the brim with college students and young high schoolers. Ino was mildly disappointed she couldn't find anyone attractive enough to distract herself immediately.

The heat of the Mexican sun had spurred Sasuke's skin into a sweaty, slippery slide of pale skin, coating his body with an irresistible sheen that was as irritating to Sasuke as it was intoxicating to Naruto.

"Hey, Sasuke, come down to the pool with us, hm?" Sakura purred with a smile, leaning over the boy's lap, her dangling earrings brushing right up the tip of Sasuke's nose as a testament to how close they were. Naruto was strangely jealous.

Sasuke snorted and gently nudged the girl away. "Take Ino. Have fun."

The pinkette shrugged and grabbed her beach tote behind him, sitting upright and fixing her swishing pink curls. "We'll see you later, then. Naruto?"

And so the blond shrugged, which sent the two perfumed and giggling girls on their way, shutting the door loudly behind them. Naruto watched Sasuke's shoulder visibly relax, and he was pleased. The day was still going strong, but Naruto wanted nothing more than to curl up and push Sasuke into bed.

"What do you think of Mexico, Sasuke?" Naruto asked offhandedly, raising up off the bed to close the curtains a bit from the glaring afternoon sun. Sasuke gave him a pointed look and swiped angrily at his sweating neck.

"I'm here because you're here."

Naruto offered up a gentle smile and sauntered back over the opposite bed where Sasuke was, inviting himself to a seat beside the raven. "Let's go swimming."

"What?" Sasuke tensed again.

"You are where I am, right? Let's go swimming, on our own. It'll cool off all that sweat, not to mention the billion questions running in your head, I'm sure." He laughed when Sasuke elbowed him angrily.

Teasingly, Naruto poked Sasuke in the nose as the boy flushed. Naruto wanted to reach and take Sasuke's hand, but knew that the timing was too soon. He was already picturing getting a couple of drinks in Sasuke's system and run some chlorine-treated water down his back, to loosen him up. And once that happened, he'd take Sasuke back to the room, and Sasuke would tell him what's been on his mind for days now.

Anxiously, Naruto bit his lip. He wanted to know the secret soon.

"Are you okay?" Naruto ventured, motioning something impossible with his hands, making Sauske's eyes furrow in confusion. Eventually the other teenager sighed and shook his head. Naruto's eyes fell back down to Sasuke's rosy uncurled fingers.

"Are you?" Sasuke asked back, breaking silence.

Outside, a bunch of teenagers screamed. Naruto couldn't have found the timing more appropriate. As Sasuke's eye began to twitch as it always does when Sasuke is thinking, Naruto watched him with a strange interest as the brunet stood, and walked around the room. His eyes darted from place to place, not resting on anything, and certainly not Naruto.

"Let's go." Naruto tried again.

"...OK." His heart leaped. Naruto stood and went to fetch the room key as Sasuke slid on his shoes and patiently waited for Naruto. In a sudden burst of excitement, Naruto slipped one arm around the brunet's waist for a half-hug, pushing a blush out of the two of them. In a sudden burst of passion, Sasuke leaned back and kissed the blond. There was no way to explain the happy deliriousness afterwards. Because at the time, no words had to be said.

They were eighteen. Things were fine.

* * *

><p><em>Dream Diary 1343...<em>

_I had a dream I ended up on the street I grew up on. It was daylight in early wintertime, and the snow was making an exquisite noise from under my boots. I walked up and down the street but no one was there, there were for sale signs on almost every lawn. People were moving on. People were leaving. I tried my front door but it wouldn't budge. There was no one left to let me in._

As it turns out, he found out the secret himself in a letter. He had just finished the multi-tasking of completing a greasy fish and grit breakfast and setting it beside his father's bed. He had finished picking up the laundry in the hall, tidying up his room, and sweeping the front porch. Mowing the lawn, ironing clothes, washing sneakers. In the midst of the sunny afternoon of May, the front door opened slowly, and then slammed quickly. Naruto was almost sure it wasn't a visitor.

He opened the rusty front door and found the letter. Simple, crisp white envelope with neat print _should _ be making his heart thump loudly in his chest. But it wasn't. It was hollow.

So Naruto put the letter on his bed and went back to work. He changed his father's bedsheets, put meat out to defrost for dinner, ran a bath for his father. Did his weekend homework. Cleaned out the refrigerator. The clock seemed to jump from six to eleven in a heartbeat.

It was when this owl kept on making the same noises, Naruto jumped up, startled, because there was tapping on his window. Not the black-winged owl. The black-haired boy. He flipped up the latch and slid the window open, letting Sasuke quickly swing a tiny foot over the ledge and hop inside.

"Sasuke," Naruto hissed, "You were supposed to at least call first. My Dad is still sleeping."

Sasuke threw him a dry look and pursed his lips as if he were about to say something, but paused. Instead, Naruto watched him shut the window himself and then slide into his bed as like he owned. Naruto made no move to stop him. He never did.

Instead, he sighed. "Sasuke, what's all this? Really I-"

"Get in." Sasuke commanded, snuggling up in the blanket so that only his eyes were peeking through, Naruto could still feel the intensity of the boy's stare. Naruto made sure to take his time peeling off his dirty socks and wrinkled shirt before rudely shoving the lighter boy aside to make room in the squeaky bed.

They turned to face each other.

"We aren't having sex."

"I wasn't planning on it, moron. When were you going to tell me?"

Naruto blinked. "Tell you what?"

"Colleges. You should've told me. You should've-"

Naruto gripped Sasuke's arm under the blanket, squeezing tightly, eyes narrowed. "If I knew, I would've _called _you. That's what normal people do. I was cleaning today, didn't check the mail."

Sasuke opened his mouth, closed it, opened it, and then finally set it into a fine line that thinned his lips out even further. Naruto's grip slacked as Sasuke inched closer towards him in such a shy way that made Naruto want to laugh. It looked like Sasuke wanted to _cuddle. _But before Naruto could make any offending jokes about it, he felt Sasuke wrap themselves around his neck, pulling him close.

His breath smelled like oranges.

"England," he breathed. "They're sending me to England."

We were eighteen. Things split apart.

* * *

><p><em>Dream Diary 1421...<em>

_I felt like I was being blended into a smoothie. Everything was color and light and flecks of life that distorted my vision. Everything about me breathed in that moment, the smell of strawberries, the sight of bananas, the feel of orange pulp, the sound of crisp apples, the taste of bright red maraschino cherries. It must've been what perfection in the stillest moment felt like. When pain balances pleasure. I could've stayed there. I should've stayed there. But I left, because someone else was waiting for me._

Naruto stared idly at his plate. There was a french fry for every thought running through his mind, breaking speed limits. He reached for one.

"You're smart enough to study abroad Naruto, this scholarships shows that. Though it is a partial one. You can go to the States." Neji said, before taking a sip of his water.

"England," Naruto grunted, and took two fries from his plate. If there was a squeeze of ketchup for every question...

"You can't afford it." Neji deadpanned.

Naruto swallowed without chewing. The atmosphere of the cafeteria was too lively that it should have been enough happiness for Naruto to selfishly swallow up a share. But he didn't want any of it. He wanted the brunette boy, who was too busy talking to the counselor about making the impending trip to England.

He gripped his napkin. Damn the Uchiha family.

"If it's debt, I can just pay it back later..." Naruto tried weakly, trailing off from the hard look in his friend's eyes. Neji was always lacked in sympathy, even more when it came to talk about Sasuke, but this, this was final. They were having a useless conversation.

So he ate some more, feeling his stomach start to push against his belt. How many fries had that been? He stopped counting after forty.

"What's the use of trailing after him? This is his choice. He's choosing to leave you. Go to TokyoU. Stay local." Neji pointed out, blinking slowly, as if taking in the sight of Naruto's hopelessly depressed and drowned look for the first time. The extent of his pain was so apparent it instantly changed the mood of the table. The background laughter suddenly seemed fake.

"You have a life too. You can't just uproot it all for Sasuke."

Naruto stared listlessly, eyes drifting down to Neji's lunch plate. "What's that?" He asked, weakly pointing.

"Fried tomatoes."

Naruto reached forward, pausing only to receive the affirmative nod of Neji's head before picking one up by his two fingers. The grease stained his fingers quickly. Naruto took a bite, eyes closing slowly at the faint sound of a crunch. It was a fresh tomato. A red one, which made it odder, even. But the juice mixed with the batter spices and coated Naruto's tongue with a soothing to a hunger he didn't even know he had. It wasn't the end of the world. He could be filled.

Sasuke loved tomatoes.

"Sweet." Naruto said, after swallowing and raising his gaze to lock with Neji's. The brunette's stare softened.

"Tangy." Neji added, smirking softly.

"Delicious." Naruto smiled, with a surprising charge of finality that hung in the air.

* * *

><p><em>Dream Diary 1447...<em>

_There were cars buzzing around us endlessly, like flies, zipping up and down the street in a mass blob of bright yellow, dull red, and splotches of gray and black. Eight lane traffic, split by beautiful neon orange lines. We walked in-between, neither here nor there. In one space of our own, just us. There were flags waving everywhere. We walked, hand-in-hand, down a road that never seemed to end._

"_When we reach the crossroads, I will go left. Which way are you headed?" Sasuke asked me over the roar of the engines. No more daydreaming. _

"_I will go right."_

They worked without speaking after the graduation ceremony, Naruto gripping Sasuke's suitcases in each hand as if they'd be ripped away from him if he didn't. Sasuke kept his jaw set and rigid, staring intently at the swaying ponytail of the man that walked briskly beside Sasuke's parents. Naruto felt anger, and a deep set sadness.

"You could stop me," Sasuke growled, without looking up. It was the most desperate thing Naruto had ever heard him say, and it broke his heart. There was hardly any venom in the words.

Naruto shook his head. "This won't be the last time we meet, Sasuke."

At the slight inclination of Itachi's head, Naruto felt his whole body freeze over in terror. It was the first time the older Uchiha had been this close to him, and frankly, he was thankful of it.

"You could come with me," Sasuke tried again.

"I can't."

"_Flight 0245 to London, United Kingdom, now boarding at Gate Three..."_

Naruto and the Uchiha family walked Sasuke all the way to the gate. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto spied Sasuke's mother tug gently on the older Uchiha's sleeve to give the two some space. Naruto would be forever grateful.

He cupped Sasuke's face. "Sasuke," he sighed. "I..."

"Wait for me." Sasuke replied, moving forward so that their foreheads were touching. "Wait for me, and I'll come back, dobe. Trust me?"

"Have I ever trusted anyone else?" Naruto smiled wryly, looking at his best friend, his protector, his lover, his savior. Lovingly. So lovingly.

They kissed until the last minutes to board pulled them apart. He ignored Itachi's watching gaze and Ms. Uchiha's calming chest pats. Watching the plane take off, Naruto felt his breath pull away from him.

But he'll wait.

They were eighteen. Things were real. No more daydreaming.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading, please review, and PLEASE, point out errors. I need a BETA, blehhhh.<p> 


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